For people who feel rejection harder than most.
And who are tired of hearing that they're just too sensitive.
A slow reply. A plan that gets canceled. A comment on your work that was probably meant kindly. For most people these are small moments. For people with high rejection sensitivity, they can land like a verdict, and the hurt can stay for hours.
Psychologists describe rejection sensitivity as the tendency to expect rejection, to see it quickly in unclear signals, and to react strongly when it seems to happen. Rejection sensitive dysphoria, or RSD, is a name often used for its most intense form, especially in conversations about ADHD. It is not a formal diagnosis, but many people recognize themselves in it.
Rsdcalm starts with an 11-question quiz that sorts your reactions into four patterns: the Approval Addict, who works hard to stay liked; the Preemptive Withdrawer, who leaves before anyone can leave them; the Emotional Flasher, whose hurt arrives fast and at full volume; and the Overachiever Shield, who tries to be beyond criticism. You may see yourself in more than one.
The 12-week protocol goes from what rejection sensitivity is, through your own triggers and how your body reacts, to how it shows up at work, in relationships and in friendships, and how to put it into words.
Each week is a chapter you can read or listen to. The aim is not to stop feeling rejection. It is to get a little more space between the first wave of hurt and what you do next.
You can't control every reply, look or silence. You can practice giving them less say over how you see yourself.
Rsdcalm is an educational program, not therapy, and it does not diagnose anything. If rejection pain comes with thoughts of harming yourself, or it makes everyday life hard to manage, please talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. If you are in danger right now, call your local emergency number or a crisis line.
If you'd like to see which pattern fits you best, start with the free quiz. Its 11 questions are about real moments like these.
— Sophie